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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Currently, there is an annual average of 44,000 to 98,000 hospital deaths due to medical error (Pezzo & Pezzo, 2006; Garg, Adhikari, McDonalad, Rosas-Arellano, Devereaux, Beyene, Sam, & Haynes, 2005). Despite the practicality and effectiveness of decision aids, only 32% of physicians use such technology (Pezzo & Pezzo, 2006). Physicians are rated by their patients as being incompetent and less professional when a decision aid is used (Arkes, Shaffer, & Medow, 2007). The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of diagnostic aids on patient’s ratings of physician characteristics and liability after reading a scenario in which the participant takes the role of the patient interacting with their physician. STATEMENT OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study involves participants working with a computer. The instructions will be presented on the computer screen. Next, they will read a scenario in which they are to take on the role of a patient interacting with their physician either when a decision aid is used or not. Then they will be asked to rate the physician on specific professional characteristics and level of liability. ANTICIPATED RISKS AND BENEFITS This study has little risk to participants. The risks associated with this experiment would be those normally associated with using a computer for 15 minutes. To our knowledge there has been no research discerning the difference between a computer-assisted diagnostic aid and a traditional aid (physician's desk reference or journal articles). The benefits of this experiment would be determining how decisions aids effect the patient's perceived capabilities and liabilities of physicians. It will also help to determine if it is the characteristics of the physician or the use of a decision aid that impact patient's perceptions. SUBJECT SELECTION Participants will be 150 volunteer students from psychology 101 course at Missouri Western State University. Students will be given extra credit for participation. CONFIDENTIALITY Participants will be asked to sign an informed consent. However, all data from their experiment will only be assigned to a subject number which will not be associated with any information on the informed consent. This ensures that all data and results will remain anonymous. Informed consents will be kept in a secure location to keep records of participation confidential. PRIMARY SUPPORTING DOCUMENT Click for Word Document Extension Request on 10-15-2012 Extension Request on 10-22-2012 If I could get an extension until the end of the semester, I should have all my data. Thank you. Final Report on 01-09-2013 PATIENT PERSPECTIVES OF PHYSICIAN EFFECTIVENESS ID# 1594 has been completed.